John Norman Thomas Movies
- 1995
- R
Two guys from Queens wind up in trouble with the mob because of their fondness for prank phone calls in this quickie comedy. Stars Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed first found fame as "The Jerky Boys" thanks to a series of comedy albums featuring real prank calls in which the duo assumed a variety of abrasive and often extremely foul-mouthed characters. Playing characters based on themselves, they reprise many of these same routines in this debut film, linking the comic bits together through a loose plot concerning local organized crime. It seems the boys have used their phone skills to trick a local mobster (Alan Arkin) into thinking that they are notorious Chicago hoods, only to have to go on the run when their scheme is discovered. Made to capitalize on a Jerky Boys fad, the film failed to attract much of an audience beyond their existing fans. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Brennan, Kamal Ahmed, (more)
- 1995
Ron Leibman and Jessica Walter, husband and wife in real life, play a married couple in this episode. A man who served as a juror in a mob trial is found murdered. When the chief suspect is brought to trial, Assistant D.A. Sam McCoy finds himself locked in a volatile courtroom battle with a longtime friend, defense attorney Mark Paul Kopell (Leibman). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
Immigrant friends living in a shabby corner of Brooklyn while they pursue the American Dream are the center of this comedy-drama from Serbian director Goran Paskaljevic. Tom Conti stars as Alonso, a Spaniard and owner of the Paradiso, a run-down bar where he lives with his blind mother and where his friend Bayo (Miki Manojlovic), an illegal immigrant from Yugoslavia, works as janitor in exchange for free room. The best of friends, Alonso and Bayo are united in believing that they'll succeed in the Land of Opportunity, despite much evidence to the contrary. Bayo's family then follows him to New York from Montenegro, but his beloved youngest son is drowned in the Rio Grande during the dangerous journey. Unable to cope with his grief, Bayo blames his eldest son, Luka (Sergej Trifunovic) for the tragedy. Luka, however, turns out to be the salvation of both his father and Alonso, transforming Paradiso into a trendy ethnic restaurant and marrying a Chinese-American girl in order to gain citizenship. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Conti, Miki Manojlovic, (more)
A pair of New York City cops collaborate on a plan to rob a cash-packed subway train in this action-comedy. Charlie (Woody Harrelson) and John (Wesley Snipes) are not just co-workers and close friends but also foster brothers. Because of this family connection, the reluctant John becomes involved in the more capricious Charlie's far-fetched scheme to rob the "money train" that collects the subway's daily grosses. Charlie needs the money for gambling debts, and robbing the train would have the added benefit of angering Charlie's and John's harsh, corrupt boss Captain Patterson (Robert Blake). Romantic interest is provided by a fellow police officer (Jennifer Lopez) who sparks rivalry between the brothers, but the film's main interest is in the violent events that surround the attempted heist, which naturally proves more complicated than planned. The film attempts to capitalize on the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson, who had previously had a hit comedy with White Men Can't Jump (1992), but Joseph Ruben's unexceptional direction and a bland screenplay by Doug Richardson and David Loughery make the film less distinctive than its predecessor. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, (more)
Loosely based on a true story, this uneven romantic comedy depicts the unexpected way in which a winning lottery ticket unites a pair of strangers. Waitress Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) first meets police officer Charlie (Nicolas Cage) when he eats in her restaurant. Realizing that he doesn't have enough money to give her a tip, Charlie promises Yvonne to split any winnings from the lottery ticket he just bought. The skeptical Yvonne dismisses Charlie as just another cheapskate until he wins four million dollars and, much to Yvonne's surprise, decides to honor the agreement. His action becomes front page news and wins public acclaim, but it doesn't go over nearly so well with Charlie's wife Muriel (Rosie Perez), who has her own plans for the money. Muriel's shallow, greedy behavior disgusts Charlie, who finds himself spending more and more time with Yvonne, developing a friendship that threatens to blossom into something more. Jane Anderson's screenplay stresses the relationship between Charlie and Yvonne's characters over the situation's comic potential; this earnest tone will please romance fans but may disappoint viewers expecting the farcical comedy of writer/director Andrew Bergman's and Cage's previous effort, Honeymoon in Vegas. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, (more)
